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It Takes a Community (to plant a buffer)!

On two sunny October days, lots of little and big hands planted a 25,000 square foot riparian buffer, the first phase of our Jenkintown Creek Restoration Project at Abington Friends School (AFS).

The AFS school and community planted 350 trees and shrubs along the Jenkintown Creek. On Friday, October 17, over 200 students helped prepare the planting area by removing debris and trash, organizing plants along the stream, and pounding in fence posts to keep deer from feasting on the newly planted buffer. They also planted a number of trees and shrubs.“These will be great for our tree identification studies and water testing,” said AFS Science teacher Jim Pierson. Along with tree identification, the trees were given names including “Rose, and Mr. Tree,” by 3rd graders.

On Saturday, over 50 students returned along with their parents and teachers, as well as community members to complete the planting effort. The day featured a press conference/tree planting ceremony to recognize funders and an environmental fair. This project is funded through a Delaware River Restoration Fund grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Treevitalize, and Washington Gas Energy Services through the Carbon Fund.

What’s the buffer all about? The trees, shrubs, and herbaceous perennials planted along the stream will filter out the pollution running from the adjacent parking lot, school, and sports fields.The plants will also help to create a shady, cool creek (the kind fish enjoy) and wildlife habitat. The diverese mix of plants are the kind you would naturally find in a forest in our region. This buffer will restore provide canopy and roots to absorb rain water and runoff.

Watch for for news on this effort. The next step in protecting the Jenkintown Creek headwaters will be the installation of a rain garden and swale, which will take place next summer.

Julie Slavet is TTF's Executive Director. She has over 20 years of experience in community affairs, program development, and personnel management. Julie earned a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Smith College and an M.S. in Public Affairs from the University of Massachusetts. Julie has served as an Advisor to the Jenkintown Community Alliance and a Director of the Montgomery County Democratic Women’s Leadership Initiative. Contact Julie at 215.844.8100 or julie@ttfwatershed.org.